KANE on Tour #3 - France

Posted by Christopher Rasker on July 14, 2017

Welcome to another edition of KANE on Tour! This month we kick our summer vibes into next gear and head down to the beautiful west coast of France, passing the cities of Bordeaux and Toulouse along the way. To accompany us on our journey through the land of fine cheese, red wine and award winning salami, we brought with us the Blue Arctic and Silver Steel faces with a combination of interchangeable straps. All KANE straps are nice and light to pack and gave us flexibility and versatility in picking outfits for the week ahead.

10,000 miles up in the sky, somewhere above Paris, the Blue Arctic Silver Mesh shimmered as the sun-ray dial reflected the deep blue sky that hung above the clouds. As we descended towards Bordeaux Merignac Airport, we knew that the next few days in this culturally rich place would reward us with some much needed relaxation and prepare us for an exciting summer of business. The city of Bordeaux is the fifth largest in France and hangs majestically in the bend of the grand Garonne River. We immediately felt the warm and hospitable atmosphere that flooded out of the many outdoor cafes, bars and restaurants. We spent the rest of the weekend soaking up that welcoming vibe along with some rich glasses of red wine. Bordeaux is considered to be the world’s major wine capital with the tipsy sector of the economy taking in almost 15 billion euros each year. And yes, as admirers of the finer things in life, we thoroughly enjoyed every drop.

After 2 days fuelled by great food and drink, we headed through the picturesque southwest region of Aquitaine by car and arrived at the surfing-mad beach destination of Biarritz. Cities are always a gem of a place to wonder around during the Summer but it was time to take in the sun, sea, sand and sunsets that Biarritz offers in surplus. With temperatures rising to 35 degrees while we were there, the beach became our best friend. The great thing about our watches is that they are water-resistant to 5ATM – meaning you can shower or sit in the shallows with them. To better meet the durability test of the sea and sand, we decided to rock the Silver Steel Silver Mesh with its stainless steel strap rather than with one of our genuine leather straps – and man did it look good!

You are probably wondering what water resistant to 5 Atmospheric Metres (ATM) actually means, so let us explain. We would not want you to ruin your KANE, so just to make sure you are completely in the know, here is a small breakdown: All of our watches are 5 ATM water resistant meaning that our designs will resist any water getting inside until the pressure exerted on the watch by the mass of the water, exceeds 5ATM. 1 ATM is the standard pressure of the atmosphere at sea level and therefore a 5 ATM watch will withstand pressures equivalent to 50 metres under water. However, remember that this is not a measure of depth but more of pressure. Therefore, whilst showers or swimming in the shallows is fine, we wouldn’t recommend deep sea dives.

Biarritz was bliss! After experiencing intense heat, delicious seafood and some humorous exchanges as we attempted to speak French, we drove away from the coast in search of a place that would cool us down. Although this trip was not a road trip in any way, driving through the foothills of the Pyrenees, across numerous wineries and orchards, we felt that if there was a country in Europe to experience from behind the wheel of a car, it was France.

With expectations already set high by the first leg of our journey, we were slightly surprised to be so blown away by the city of Toulouse. Known to locals as “La Ville Rose” (The Pink City), due to the distinctive pink stone that makes up many of the historical buildings that facade the area, Toulouse is like a southern version of Paris, only smaller. It was amusing to find ourselves in another city situated so nicely on the river Garonne, but the city is actually most renowned for its vibrant young cosmopolitan cultural scene. Often referred to as “the campus of France” because of its abundance in Universities, the young and energetic atmosphere that occupied the streets was refreshing and made it the ideal place for us to finish our trip.

With Toulouse receiving just a fraction of the tourists that Paris, Nice and Monaco get, we felt it was a hidden delight and a perfect place to experience the wonderful, quitter sides of France we hadn’t seen yet. Suited with our Blue Arctic Urban Grey and our Silver Steel Silver Mesh we enjoyed hopping from one fine dining hotspot to another around the exuberant district of Carmes, reflecting on what had been a tasty, adventurous and inspiring visit to the South of France.

Last but not least, throughout the month of July we will be using#KANESUMMER to communicate with you and spread the good summer vibes. So if you want to show off some of the cool things you are up to this summer, whether it's with a KANE on your wrist or where you would like to have one, use #KANESUMMER for a chance to get featured!

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KANE Watches are inspired by the essentialist movement in Tokyo and designed in the heart of Amsterdam. Much like the movement in Japan, we focus on what is truly important in our watch designs - because sometimes less is just more.